Recovering Lost Years: British Foreign Policy After the War of the Polish Succession

A study of a neglected period in British foreign policy serves to question schematic approaches to the history of international relations and to underline the indeterminacy felt by contemporaries, and their sense of the roles of contingency and personality. The problems faced then in conceptualizing international relations can be mirrored today.     

Incarnating a rhetoric of identity: Pat Robertson and the 700 Club

Abstract

The article analyses the American ‘Christian’ television talk show, the 700 Club, created by Pat Robertson. It suggests that Robertson has developed a sophisticated form of programming based on the creation of a participatory identity between the viewer, programme hosts and interviewees. This is based on the skilful combination of rhetoric and myths, understood in terms of narrative paradigms, supported by the active involvement of worldwide church-based support networks.     

Ties that bind? The rise and decline of ethno-regional partisanship in Malawi, 1994–2009

In the first three elections following Malawi's return to democracy in 1993, voting patterns displayed a clear ethno-regional pattern. Then in 2009 the regional pattern broke down in dramatic fashion, with the incumbent President, Bingu wa Mutharika, attracting majority support across all three regions. This article first examines whether ethnic identities were at the root of Malawi's ethno-regional electoral pattern. Our tests show that while ethnic identities were associated with partisan attachments in some areas, regional patterns were more consistently related to other factors, particularly views of the government's performance and the inclusiveness of the ruling party. We then examine the breakdown of the regional pattern, drawing on trend analysis of public opinion data from 1999 to 2008. We show that by 2009 the majority of Malawians in all three regions had come to hold positive views of Mutharika's performance and had come to see his government as inclusive. We conclude, therefore, that shifts in patterns of partisanship had more to do with political factors – Mutharika's symbolic and substantive policies during this first term – than ethnic identities. Malawi reminds us that incumbents, when faced with incentives to construct multi-ethnic support bases, can use the power of the state to reach out across ethnic political boundaries and re-order supposedly entrenched patterns of partisanship.     

Public interest law revisited 1

This article undertakes a detailed examination of the practical desirability and legal validity of arbitration clauses under the Nigerian legal regime. This involves navigating through provisions of the relevant Rent Control and Recovery of Premises Law. Areas of incompatibility (including those bordering on jurisdiction, penal provisions and enforcement of awards) between the latter law and arbitration clauses are then discussed. Finally, recommendations are made to the effect that the Rent Control and Recovery of Premises Law should be amended.     

Stressful Life Experiences and Peer Externalizing Behaviors Mediate the Relation Between Reduced Family Support and Externalizing Symptoms in Low-Income Urban Youth

Family support, urban stressors, and peer behavior were examined in relation to externalizing symptoms in 605 predominantly low-income urban sixth through eighth grade adolescents. Mother and father support were each associated with lower levels of externalizing symptoms in both males and females. For males, father absence was associated with increased peer externalizing behavior and heightened rates of youth externalizing symptoms. Stress (in the form of major life events, daily hassles, and exposure to violence) and peer externalizing behavior were examined as mediators of the relation between parent support and youth externalizing symptoms. Increased stress exposure mediated the relation between weak mother and father support and youth externalizing symptoms. Additionally, for females, peer externalizing behavior mediated the relation between weak mother support and youth externalizing symptoms.     

Analysis of the Spectre of Urban Density From the Perspective of Compactness of Forms A Response to a New Urban Vulnerability

The concepts of ＂density＂ and ＂urban morphology＂ are today at the centre of debates on architecture and urban planning. The concept of＂density＂ provides a solution to the issue of urban sprawl and, consequently, offers a way of rethinking sustainable urban and rural development. The densification of urban centres makes it possible to reduce a vulnerability related to the excessive use of suburban areas. However, densification is not a ＂turnkey＂ solution. Numerous criteria relating to its use are poorly understood. As numerous contemporary experiences have demonstrated, urban densification exposes space systems to new, unknown forms of vulnerability. First, the concept of ＂vulnerability＂ will be defined, specifically that of urban vulnerability, as well as related concepts, such as those of risk, hazard, and challenges. Secondly, forms of vulnerability inherent in the over-densification paradigm are pinpointed： This will involve determining the specific hazards, challenges, and risks of this space system. Thirdly, the authors will demonstrate how the concept of ＂compactness＂ makes it possible to review at the different urban levels the densification processes of territories and urban areas. Finally, a tool for the optimisation of compact urban morphologies for use in countering the related hazards and risks will be proposed.